Understanding the risk society : crime, security and justice / Gabe Mythen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mythen, Gabe.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Risk--Sociological aspects.

Risk.

Crime.

Physical Description:

xi, 191 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke, Hampshire : Palgrave Macmillan 2014.

Summary:

In this penetrating account of the impacts of risk on everyday life, Gabe Mythen provides a theoretically informed overview of the regulation of crime and security in a globalized world. By explicating the relationships between risk and crime, security and justice, the text applies risk to specific incidents and events, scrutinizing social processes and cultural practices, as well as illuminating some of the central social and political issues of the modern age. Extending across a range of domains, including law, the environment, media and politics Mythen embarks on a conceptual and critical exploration of risk theory. In doing so, his incisive text presents both a critical evaluation of the efficacy of competing perspectives on risk and an authoritative appraisal of the place of risk within the social sciences. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The Turn to Risk 11

Defining risk 11

Inflecting towards risk 15

Approaching risk: Paradigms, branches and perspectives 20

2 Theorizing Risk 27

Introduction 27

The risk society perspective 28

The governmentality perspective 33

The culture of fear perspective 37

The anthropological perspective 40

Competing perspectives on risk: Commonalities and contrasts 43

Conclusion 46

3 Crime, Risk and Governance 49

Introduction 49

Calibrating and mobilizing risk: Crime prevention nad harm minimization 52

Harnessing risk? Crime, control and governance 58

Casing risk: Chasing the Foucauldian shadows - policing, data and surveillance 60

Criminal motives and motivations: Risk-taking, culture and pleasure 63

Conclusion 68

4 Fear, Victimization and the Media 69

Introduction 69

Victimization, risk and rights 70

Surveying crime: (Mis)calculating risk and anxiety? 74

Beyond the public deficit model of 'Fear of Crime' 78

The media, crime and moral panic 81

Casing risk: 'Knife-Crime' and the culture of fear 86

Conclusion 88

5 Terrorism, Risk and Regulation 91

Introduction 91

Defining the terrorist risk 93

The discursive construction of 'New Terrorism': Politics, media and the state 95

Casing risk: Situating terrorism in the risk society 97

Envisaging terrorism: What if questions and risk imaginaries 99

Counter-terrorism and risk: The pre-emptive drift 101

Conclusion 106

6 The Environment, Risk and Harm 108

Introduction 108

Capitalism, globalization and the environment: The humanization of nature? 111

Regulating environmental risks: Gaps in the system 114

Disaster(ous) capitalism? Markets, crisis and environmental crime 117

Casing risk: Hurricane Katrina through the anthropological looking glass 121

Challenging consumption: The greenshoots of global subpolitics? 127

Conclusion 131

7 Contesting Risk 133

Theoretical blind spots: Factoring in agency 135

Who speaks about risk? Danger, power and geopolitics 138

(Mis)applying risk: Avoiding catachresis 142

Conclusion 143

Conclusion 145

Theoretical perspectives: Promises fulfilled or risky seductions? 146.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-177) and index.

ISBN:

9780230555310

0230555314

9780230555327

0230555322

OCLC:

864501897